Riku Sakamaki, a high school student, wakes up in a world where the sky glows purple. He has been transported to this strange place with no idea how or why. The first person he meets is a silver-haired girl named Vestia Zeta, an agent of a secret organization with the codename V.7. She wears key-shaped accessories and has access to data from the virtual world. Cool and mysterious on the outside, she also has a sarcastic, sometimes clumsy side that makes her oddly charming.
"[cold]You'll die her
Vestia Zeta: Heir of the Black Key - The night of betrayal—the echoing footsteps of the end
The Lumina Central of the dark period shows a completely different face from its daytime self.
The pale light cast by the purple sky was too weak to fill the gaps between buildings, and the alleys of the old town were as dark as if drenched in ink. Only the light conduits running along the crystalline walls barely traced the outlines of the streets.
Sakamaki Riku walked behind Vestia Zeta, nearly stopping in his tracks again and again. The cobblestones were slick as if wet, and his soles couldn't find proper purchase.
"Are you sure this is the right way?"
"Just follow me quietly. The old town is a maze. If you let your mind wander, you really will get lost."
Vestia pulled her hood down lower. Her long silver hair swayed faintly in the darkness. She turned corners without hesitation, descended crumbling stairways, and slipped through gaps that were barely more than spaces between walls.
Thirty minutes had already passed since they left the Ortlink headquarters.
"So, this informant of yours—he's really tucked away in some back alley like this?"
"Informants stay in places that don't stand out. Try to learn at least a little common sense about this world."
"Common sense, huh..."
Riku let out a sigh. Seven days since he'd been transported here. He was gradually getting used to life in Lumina Central, but walking through the old town at night like this was a first.
Suddenly, the back of his right hand grew hot.
Riku gripped his right hand with his left. The black key's pattern wasn't surfacing. But beneath his skin, something seemed to writhe—that was the sensation.
(Again...)
The black key's power reacted to Riku's emotions. Anxiety, fear, anger. When it sensed those things, his right hand burned. Just like that day when he'd fallen into this world.
"We're here."
Vestia stopped.
An old iron door. It stood as if embedded into the wall. The sign hung at a slant, its letters too faded to read. Only a small crystal lamp beside the door glowed with a pale blue light.
"This is the information café, Signal."
Vestia knocked on the iron door three times at regular intervals. After a moment, the sound of a lock disengaging came from the other side.
The door slowly opened.
"Welcome. I've been waiting."
A soft voice.
The man scratched his medium-length hair—a mix of gold and brown—carelessly as he looked at the two of them with sleepy, half-lidded eyes. A small crystal earring glinted near his left temple.
Age twenty-six. Kisaragi Ren. An unofficial collaborator of Ortlink and an informant in the old town. Riku had been told all this beforehand by Vestia.
"Well now, Vestia. Beautiful as ever, I see. And the young man behind you is..."
Ren's gaze settled on Riku's right hand.
His sleepy eyes narrowed sharply for just an instant.
"I see. So this is the rumored Heir of the Black Key."
Ren smiled. His voice was as soft as ever, yet a chill ran down Riku's spine.
"Ren, save the prying for later. Let us in."
"How rude of me. Come in, come in. It's cramped, but not uncomfortable."
Ren stepped aside and ushered the two of them inside.
The interior was dim. One counter, three round tables. Old information panels covered the walls, their pale blue light flickering on and off. The air was slightly damp, and a sweet fragrance hung in it.
"Please, have a seat. I'll prepare some warm tea."
Ren disappeared behind the counter and began arranging cups with practiced efficiency.
Riku sat down at the round table farthest in. Vestia chose a seat near the entrance rather than beside him—her habit of always being ready to move.
"Is that guy really an informant? He seems kind of... airy, I guess?"
"Don't judge by appearances. Even so, he's a far better informant than Ortlink's analysts."
"Flattery won't get you anything, Vestia-san."
Ren returned carrying a tray with tea. He placed steaming cups before the two of them, then sat down across from them himself.
"Well then, shall we get to the main topic? It's a long story, but... I have good information for you."
Ren placed a single information panel on the table. A map of Lumina Central was displayed on the translucent screen. Countless points of light blinked across various parts of the city.
"Over the past few days, I've recorded every point where Noise has appeared. From small ones to mid-sized ones—all of them."
Ren traced his finger across the panel. The points of light gathered smoothly into a single location.
The northeastern part of Lumina Central. A district at the edge of the map, close to the outer wall.
"Look. The occurrences themselves haven't decreased. But the locations where they appear have begun to skew drastically over the past few days. Especially this northeastern disposal district. Large numbers of small Noise are gathering and staying perfectly still, as if someone is commanding them."
"You mean they're lying in wait?"
"Exactly. Noise are normally drawn to human fear and hatred, moving about chaotically. But not now. They're lining up. This is clearly the work of someone's will."
The airy softness vanished from Ren's voice.
"Duskbringer. The probability that they are deliberately gathering Noise and preparing a coordinated assault on this city is extremely high."
Riku caught his breath.
If Lumina Central's outer wall were breached—if that happened, what would become of the city?
"Ren, how certain are you?"
"Eighty percent. No—call it ninety. This is the first time my information network has recorded such a clear pattern of deviation."
Vestia's profile hardened.
Riku could tell from her expression that she trusted this information. That was how highly Vestia regarded this informant.
(The situation might be far more serious than I thought.)
The back of his right hand burned again.
"First, we need to get this information to Ortlink—"
Vestia was mid-sentence when it happened.
The communication terminals lined up along the shop's wall all began ringing at once.
A shrill alarm. Red light flashed through the shop.
"An alarm...!?"
Ren shot to his feet and ran to the counter. He worked the information panels one after another, but every screen displayed the same warning.
—Northeastern sector of Lumina Central, outer wall collapse. Massive horde of Noise invading the city.
"You've got to be kidding..."
Ren's voice wavered low for the first time.
Vestia gripped her white key pendant and looked out the window.
Screams could be heard in the distance.
"The hypothesis has become reality."
Ren murmured quietly, staring out the window.
Beneath the purple sky, from the northeast of the city, something like black haze was beginning to cover the sky. A horde of Noise was surging in like an avalanche.
"Riku, you go to the underground shelter. I'll guide—"
Vestia turned and addressed Riku.
"No."
Riku shook his head immediately.
"I can't let you go alone. I'm coming too."
"That's reckless. You still can't control the black key."
"I know that. But if the choice is sending you alone into that, then I'm going."
Vestia's silver eyes stared at Riku.
"...Don't slow me down."
"Yeah."
That was when it happened.
The city's lights all went out at once.
The light of the frequency tower visible through the window. The crystal lamps that had illuminated the outlines of buildings. All of it flickered once, then sank into darkness.
"Wh—what the hell!?"
"The frequency towers... all stopped?"
Vestia's voice trembled slightly.
"Jamming waves... This is Decibel's ability. He's remotely nullifying the purification waves from the frequency towers."
Ren said in a grim voice as he worked the communication terminal.
"The safe zones have vanished... The entire city is exposed to Noise in this dark period."
Only the purple sky remained eerily bright.
People's screams were drawing closer.
"Riku, we're going. To the evacuation route in the northeast."
Vestia opened the shop's door.
Riku followed her back and leaped out into the darkness.
The city had changed.
The streets, stripped of light, were dark as another world. The screams and footsteps of fleeing people. Fragments of collapsing buildings. The air was cold, and something smelled burnt.
Vestia gripped her white key pendant and ran, deploying a barrier of white light around them. That light was their guidepost in the darkness.
"Dammit, where the hell are all these things coming from...?"
Riku kicked away small Noise crawling onto the road as he chased Vestia's back. The Noise, still just masses of black haze, swarmed as if drawn to human screams.
As they approached the northeastern evacuation route, the number of Noise increased.
Several Ortlink agents were swinging crystal blades, holding back the horde. The report of high-frequency crystal guns was deafening.
"Prioritize the civilians! Continue guiding them to the underground shelter!"
Someone shouted.
Riku and Vestia emerged into a plaza in the middle of evacuation efforts.
"There are still people over there."
Vestia pointed. In the shadow of a crumbling building, a girl and her mother were crouching.
"Ah, dammit! I'll go!"
Riku broke into a run.
Vestia raised her crystal blade and cut through the surrounding mid-sized Noise. Trails of white light streaked through the night sky.
"This way! Run!!"
Riku ran, practically carrying the mother and girl along.
That was when it happened.
A black shadow rose behind Riku.
No—the shadow hadn't risen. It had fallen from above. A mid-sized Noise had caught the scent of Riku's fear and was bringing its claws down from directly overhead.
"Riku!!"
Vestia's scream.
Riku couldn't turn around. Holding the girl, his entire body locked up.
Black claws tore through the air.
—Something lukewarm splattered against Riku's cheek.
"V-Vestia...?"
At the edge of his vision, he saw silver hair slowly collapsing.
Vestia had thrown her own body between Riku's back and the Noise.
The mid-sized Noise's claws had slashed deep—deep—into her side.
"...Gh, ah...!"
A pained breath escaped Vestia's lips.
The white barrier burst apart. Her body crumpled at Riku's feet.
"Vestia... Vestia!!"
Riku released the girl and rushed to where Vestia had fallen.
Blood was pouring endlessly from her side. Her clothes were staining black in an instant. Riku frantically pressed his hands against the wound. But the warm blood kept gushing through the gaps between his fingers.
"Stop... stop it... dammit, stop!!"
Riku screamed as he pressed down with his hands.
The warmth of the blood spread across his palms. Lukewarm—no, hot. Pulsing, throbbing, her life was flowing out.
A distant memory resurfaced in Riku's mind.
—The fire from his childhood. The house burning down. Friends crying and screaming. That day when he'd reached out his hand to save them.
(The people precious to me disappear before my eyes.)
Terror crawled up from his fingertips.
"No... no, no, no...! Don't die—hey, Vestia, don't you die!!"
Riku screamed, tears streaming down his face. His throat felt like it would split open.
"...It's all right."
A weak voice cut through Riku's cries.
Vestia smiled with bloodless lips.
"This much... won't kill me... More importantly, hurry... get away."
"What are you saying...! There's no way I'm leaving you behind!"
Riku lifted Vestia's body into his arms.
His left arm supported her back. His right arm cradled the backs of her knees. Her body was light. And yet his legs trembled so badly he could barely run.
Vestia's blood stained Riku's chest.
"...There's an entrance to the underground passage in that back alley."
Vestia pointed the way with a voice that seemed about to fade out.
Riku ran without looking anywhere else.
The sounds around him felt distant.
Only his own breathing and the pounding of his heart sounded unnaturally loud.
Finding the entrance to the underground passage, Riku descended the dim stairs with Vestia still in his arms. The damp air thickened the smell of blood.
In
Novelia is an AI-powered platform to read original light novels and fan fiction, create your own in just a few taps, and chat with the characters. New, illustrated episodes arrive daily — free to start.